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EU Referendum Result from a Family Law Perspective

Odyssey July 2016

Resolution, the national organisation for family lawyers, has indicated that it is far too early to know the full implications for family law as like most areas of legislation, family law in the UK is currently intrinsically linked to the European Union. For example, there are jurisdictional rules in place that indicate where divorces can start and which countries recognise the priority of the other member states and the orders of the other member states. It is extremely unlikely that the implications for family law will be a first priority for the UK government so these matters are likely to remain in the longer term abeyance whilst other issues take priority.

There are also wider issues not directly linked to legislation. Any impact for the financial markets changes potential values of pensions, investments and house values. There can also be job uncertainty. It really depends how the markets respond. Historically, when there have been periods of uncertainty in the markets, a concern for clients has been to have some certainty over the longer term value of that which the client is retaining, before reaching agreement on division of assets. Conversely, however, financial difficulties can place a layer of strain on a relationship if problems are already being experienced.